Hard day's work

Well there's a hard day's work finished on the farm! Lessee..... my chores for the day --

Made breakfast for the kids and cleaned up the kitchen. Started pasta salad for dinner tonight.
Fed and played with all the critters.
Cleaned out the van from hauling goats (yes, you read that right)
Ran into town for milk and sugar, dropped kids at swim lessons on the way back.
Arranged a delivery of hay. Unloaded said hay.
Set up the chick nursery for when the chicks arrive this week from the Hatchery.
Made a chocolate cream pie for dessert.
Figured the checkbook and bills.
Worked with the site designer on the new site for a while.
Cleaned the bathroom and swept the upstairs.

Whew! I'm done! And I still have to work tonight from 5-11pm. I think I'll take a nap for a while and enjoy the air conditioning.

Oh, the goats! Yes, I have learned that you can fit three full-sized meat goats in our van when you remove the last seat and, as I expected and tried to convince the seller, they do just fine. As soon as the van starts moving they just lay down. They traveled this way with Vincent and I for over an hour back to the farm without incident other than trying to nibble on Vincent's head which he, in fact, seemed to enjoy. The buck even squeezed his way up between the middle seat and driver's seat and I petted him most of the way. So the problem isn't the transporting of the goats. No, not at all. The problem is this. Upon arrival back at the farm I realized Ed would be home from work in about 15 minutes - just enough time for me to wash a sinkful of dishes and straighten the kitchen. I parked the van in the shade, made sure they had a nice breeze coming through the van, and instructed the goats to behave during this short time. Apparently goats do not listen to instructions well. I did not know this.

In less than 15 minutes time they had climbed all over all the seats of the van and pooped. Yes, neatly on the little rubber mat in the back, but also, well, EVERYWHERE. It was all over the dashboard, carpet, seats, everywhere and of course they were walking through it smashing it in. Oh no, it was so not pretty.

What did I learn from all this? Well, vinegar cuts the smell of goat poop pretty well. Hotshot carpet cleaner works very well on van seats. Unload all animals immediately upon arrival at the barn. Goats don't listen well. Very educational if I do say so myself!